08/13/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks aim to keep up their season-long dominance of the Colorado Rockies when the National League West rivals resume a three-game series tonight at Coors Field.
Arizona claimed Tuesday's opener by a 4-2 count and has now won nine of the 10 encounters between the clubs this season. That success has provided a small measure of revenge for the Diamondbacks, who were swept in four games by the Rockies in last October's NL Championship Series.
Randy Johnson (10-8) sparked Tuesday's triumph by allowing two runs over six innings and contributing a key RBI single at the plate. The future Hall of Famer struck out seven Colorado hitters en route to his 294th career victory.
Chad Tracy led the Arizona offense with a 3-for-5 performance that included a two-run homer. Adam Dunn went 1-for-3 with a double in his first game as a Diamondback.
Dunn, who is tied for the major league lead with 32 home runs, was acquired by Arizona on Monday in exchange for minor-league pitcher Dallas Buck and two players to be named. One of those players will reportedly be right-handed hurler Micah Owings, according to a story in the Arizona Republic published on Tuesday.
Owings went 8-8 during a promising rookie campaign for the D-Backs last season but has struggled mightily in 2008. The 25-year-old went 6-9 with a 5.93 earned run average in 22 big-league games (18 starts) and lost seven consecutive decisions before being sent to the minors in late July.
Arizona, which remained one game in front of Los Angeles for first place in the NL West, will send out Doug Davis in tonight's tilt. The veteran lefty is enduring a rough stretch of his own right now, as he's lost back-to-back starts and three of his last four decisions.
Davis was tagged for seven runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings to receive a loss against Atlanta last Friday. That was actually an upgrade over his previous effort, a 1 2/3-inning stint at Los Angeles in which the Dodgers reached him for five runs on six hits.
The 32-year has yet to face Colorado this season but owns a 2-3 record with a 4.22 ERA in eight career regular-season starts against the Rockies. Davis lost in his only lifetime appearance at Coors Field, although all three runs he allowed in that five-inning start were unearned.
Colorado's Jeff Francis will make his second start since returning from the disabled list in tonight's test. The talented lefty wasn't very sharp in his comeback, as Francis surrendered five runs and eight hits -- including two homers -- over 5 1/3 innings in a home loss to Washington last Thursday.
Francis had not started for the Rockies since June 28 due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder. He won a career-high 17 games last season and defeated the Diamondbacks with 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball during the 2007 NLCS.
The 27-year-old has had no success against Arizona this year. Francis has lost all three of his starts in this year's season series and allowed a whopping 20 runs and 32 hits over just 16 innings of work. He's still 7-5 lifetime versus the Diamondbacks with a 4.77 ERA in 17 starts.
<< Lester tries to do more for Red Sox vs. Rangers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox have been one of baseball's best teams
at home this season, while Jon Lester has been nearly unbeatable when he has
taken the Fenway Park mound.
Lester tries to pitch the Red Sox to a second straigh
<< Cubs, Braves set to play two in Atlanta
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After having a day off due to inclement weather in the
Atlanta area on Tuesday, the Chicago Cubs will try again for their sixth
straight road win when they kick off a six-game trek this afternoon with a
day-night doubleheader
<< Red-hot Angels go for sixth straight in finale with Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are going to try and make
their short series with Seattle a good one. The club concludes a two-game set
with the Mariners tonight at Angel Stadium.
Tonight's test brings to a close an e
<< Surging Sabathia, Brewers resume set at Padres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been more than a week since the Milwaukee Brewers lost
a game. On the other hand, new team ace CC Sabathia hasn't tasted defeat in
over two months.
Sabathia will attempt to remain unbeaten as a Brewer and lead
Curlin's owner goes after Big Brown >>
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Recent remarks by the trainer of Kentucky
Derby winner Big Brown have inspired Jess Jackson, majority owner of Curlin,
to seek a confrontation in the upcoming Woodward Stakes at Saratoga. Jackson
has of
Marlins continue series with Cardinals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies are
floundering out west in LA, the Florida Marlins are slowly climbing their way
back to the top of the division.
The Marlins will try to gain more ground on the Phillies to
Maine set for return as Mets battle Nationals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets hope that John Maine can make a
successful return from the disabled list tonight, when he takes the ball in
the second test of a three-game series against the Washington Nationals.
Maine exited early in h
Blue Jays shoot for another win over troubled Tigers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a healthy Vernon Wells, the Toronto Blue Jays aren't
ready to give up on the American League Wild Card just yet. The Blue Jays try
for their third straight win over the Detroit Tigers tonight in the
continu
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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